Coins, medals, and the like stamped from a flat piece of metal have been used in trade from the earliest times of recorded history. Generally, such coins are stamped on both sides (known as obverse and reverse sides) from relatively small discs of precious or other metal. More recently, various manufacturers have developed innumerable coins, medals, and the like to commemorate various events, associations, etc. These coins and medals are also generally stamped or minted from flat metal discs, with two opposed dies being used to form an image on both sides of the coin.
Coin collecting is a popular hobby. Significant aspects of the hobby include the safe storage and attractive display of coins within a collection. One known method for storing coins is to provide circular openings in cardboard or fiberboard sheets which are bound together by a flexible backing. The resulting “book” typically provides a date labeled opening or coin receiving depression for each year in which a particular coin was minted. This type of prior art book is suitable for its intended purpose, but room for additional innovation remains in the field of coin displays and/or storage systems.
There have been numerous inventions related to the coin collecting hobby.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,897 issued on Oct. 28, 1969 to Walter Rambow, titled “Display Device For Objects Such As Coins And The Like,” describes a display board having a series of sockets into which a series of plugs may be removably installed. Each of the plugs holds a circular coin display holder thereon. In other embodiments, a series of ribs are placed on the board, with the ribs having shoulders for gripping the edges of the coin holders. None of the embodiments disclosed by Rambow provide for customizing the size of the coins displayed in the holders.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,643 issued on Dec. 4, 1973 to Victor Titoff, titled “Device For Simultaneously Displaying The Front And Rear Of Coins,” describes a stand in which one or more coins are held by clips which hold their bottom edges. A mirror is provided in back of the coins, for viewing the reverse sides thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,475 issued on Sep. 24, 1974 to Gerrit M. Bolanz, titled “Storage Device For Coins And Similar Objects,” describes an adjustable rack for holding a single coin. The Bolanz device is adjustable to hold coins of different diameters, with the adjustable portion held in a sealed enclosure with transparent panels on each side thereof. While Bolanz allows for holding coins of different diameters, his holder is unduly complex, and would be cost prohibitive to be used on a wide scale by coin collectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,410 issued on Oct. 29, 1974 to Luther N. Cook, titled “Mounting Of Coins In The Faces Of Coin Albums,” describes the pivotal mounting of coins in a relatively thin sheet of material, between a pair of horizontally opposed pivots.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,477 issued on Aug. 23, 1977 to Raymond E. Deese, titled “Coin Display,” describes a series of generally rectangular, interlocking frames, each of which may hold a single coin between two transparent sheets of material. The coins are held in place by inserts which hold each coin centered within its corresponding frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,399 issued on Sep. 6, 1983 to Wolfgang Friess, titled “System For The Storage Of Coins And The Like,” describes a flat plate sandwich structure for holding a series of coins therein. A central layer includes a series of passages therethrough for holding coins therein, with an unbroken clear sheet of material overlying the central sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,761 issued on Jan. 7, 1997 to David B. Owen, titled “Coin Display Holder,” describes a device having an opening with a series of three generally radially disposed flexible arms extending inwardly from the wall of the opening.
There is a need to provide a simple inexpensive coin holder that can be quickly adapted to hold coins of various diameters.
The present invention relates to a mounting device for various sized objects preferably coins or circular tokens where it is desirable to keep said items within a protective cover, viewable from the front and/or rear of said item.